In addition, a half-dozen of the serious violations also were classified as willful because CAL/OSHA found the company failed to take action to fix known hazardous conditions at the refinery and intentionally failed to comply with state safety standards.

Officials with the state Department of Industrial Relations said the “investigation revealed severe lapses in Exxon’s safety protocols.”

“It’s pretty rare for a compliance officer to issue one wilful citation, let alone six willful citations,” said Clyde Trombettas, who heads up the department’s process safety management unit, which is responsible for inspecting chemical plants and refineries in California…